Taking the theme of the celebration, Free Jazz, literally, Ming Wong will create an improvised performance during the five-year anniversary party of NTU CCA Singapore. Highly influenced by cinema, Wong’s work unravels ideas of “authenticity,” “originality,” and the “other,” with reference to the act of human performativity. He explores how culture, gender, and identity are constructed, reproduced, and circulated, forming politics of representation.

For this special occasion, Carlos Casas invited musicians George Chua and Cheryl Ong to respond to his site-specific installation through a live-editing and sound situation.

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BIOGRAPHIES

Ming Wong (Singapore/Germany) builds layers of cinematic language, social structure, identity, and introspection through his re-telling of world cinema and popular culture in his videos, installations, and performances. With imperfect translations and re-enactments, he casts himself as every character in a story. Wong attempts to unravel ideas of “authenticity,” “originality,” and the “other,” with reference to the act of human performativity. He explores how culture, gender, and identity are constructed, reproduced, and circulated, forming politics of representation. Though untrained as an actor, his work is highly influenced by cinema and in constant dialogue with measures of performativity, gender, and difference. Recent projects have become more interdisciplinary, incorporating performance and installation to flesh out his exploration of cultural artefacts from around the world. Wong represented Singapore at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009 with the solo presentation Life of Imitation, which was awarded a special mention. He has had solo exhibitions at leading institutions worldwide, including UCCA, Beijing; Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo; and REDCAT, Los Angeles. He has been included in numerous international biennials, including Performa, New York; Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane; Sydney Biennale; Shanghai Biennale; Lyon Biennale; Liverpool Biennial; and Busan Biennale.

Carlos Casas (Spain/France) works with film and the sonic. His last three films have been awarded in festivals around the world including Torino, Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City. He has recently concluded a trilogy of films, END, dedicated to the most extreme environments on the planet: Patagonia, Aral Sea, and Siberia. Avalanche is a lifelong project and site-specific film based on one of the highest inhabited villages in the Pamirs, a mountain range in Central Asia. His films have been shown in festivals such as the Venice Film Festival; Rotterdam Film Festival; FID Marseille; BAFICI Buenos Aires; Jeonju International Film Festival, South Korea; Documenta Madrid; FICCO Mexico; and others. His works have been presented at institutions including Tate Modern, London; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Hangar Bicocca, Milan; Bozar Bruxelles; Oi Futuro, Rio de Janeiro; MIS São Paulo; Centre Pompidou and Fondation Cartier, Paris; Centre Cultura Contemporanea, Barcelona; MALBA, Buenos Aires; and GAM, Torino. He was Creative Director of Colors Music and Films from 2005–08 where he developed audio-visual projects and music research in various regions around the world. He is Co-founder of Map Productions and the visual sound label Von Archives. Casas is Visiting Professor at Dartmouth College, United States, and ECAM, the Madrid film school. He was an NTU CCA Singapore Artist-in-Residence from December 2017 to February 2018.

George Chua (Singapore) has been active since the late 1990s. He currently uses the modular synth as a live performance tool to create electronic music with oblique shifts in sound and rhythm. As an investigator and explorer, he has no interest in developing a singular style. The physicality of the sound takes precedence in his performances.

Cheryl Ong (Singapore) is a percussionist active in music performance and education, regularly performing with avant-rock group The Observatory and SA, a trio that uses traditional Chinese instruments with modern sensibilities. A recipient of the National Arts Council Arts Bursary (Overseas), Ong graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, with a degree in Chinese Percussion. Though classically trained, Ong consistently struggles with the division of classical and traditional music and the limits of their roles.